Saturday, April 12, 2008

Sagunto, our correspondent in Amsterdam, has sent us a dispatch about the latest twist in Dutch Islamo-political affairs.

What I notice about the events described below is that Prime Minister Balkenende, like most other politicians and functionaries among the European ruling elites, cannot bear to be mocked. In this he resembles the Muslims, and like them he considers that he has a right to legal redress if anyone makes fun of him in public.

I’ll let Sagunto explain it.

Here’s a bizarre story, featuring our widely detested Dutch “Prime” Minister J.-P. Balkenende, whose name is often transcribed as bak ellende i.e. “bucket of misery”, and also Balkende i.e. “the braying”. Jan-Peter “the Braying”, that would be the most suitable nick for our Prime Minister, or Premier, as the article below says.

The article reports about a disgraceful attempt at curtailing free speech in the Netherlands by “the Braying” himself. True, it’s a change amidst the ongoing and growing Islamist “lawfare”, but no less malevolent..

The issue in brief: Opinio, a conservative weekly, recently published a so-called “secret speech” by our Prime Minister, in which he warns his public that “Islam is the problem”. The content is hilarious and an obvious pastiche for anyone who knows the Islamo-apologetic views of “J.-P. the Braying”. The real joke however, has been the hysterical reaction that was launched by our Premier, in the form of a lawsuit against the chief editor of Opinio, in order to (quote: state attorney) “restore tranquility in the public sphere”.

Premier Jan Peter Balkenende on Friday lost a lawsuit against weekly Opinio. The magazine printed a fictitious speech on Thursday in which the premier warned against Islam.

Opinio only admitted during Friday’s summary injunction that the speech was fake. The court however ruled that it was “clearly fictitious”. Therefore, “there is no question of an incorrect or false representation of facts”. Opinio does not have to make a correction of the publication, as Balkenende was demanding.

Initially, Opinio had not at all wanted to suggest the speech was fake. Chief editor Jaffe Vink had said on Thursday evening the text was passed on to him by a reliable source. “Now Balkenende is denying that he has written such a speech, but the text that we have in our possession looks extremely convincing.” On Friday, the weekly’s lawyer however said the satirical nature of the speech was evident.

Balkenende says in the speech: “What is the big problem? I will say it without circumlocution: the big problem is Islam. You listen carefully, I do not say: radical Islam or Islamic terrorism or fundamentalism in general — no, I say: the big problem is Islam.”

Opinio claimed Balkenende gave his secret speech Sunday at a select company of 30 prominent Christian democrats (CDA). The Government Information Service (RVD) said the speech could not be true because Balkenende was at home with his family when he gave it according to Opinio.

Balkenende actually constantly warns in public against views that say that Islam is a problem. His CDA has in a year’s time changed rather radically from a centre-right party to a centre-left or leftwing course.

Balkenende considered Opinio was guilty of a “great lack of understanding of responsibility and journalistic decency.” The state’s lawyer stated Opinio was “acting like someone throwing a lit cigarette into a fireworks store”.

As a reader of Opinio, I’d like to call attention to the wonderful “open letter” from Jaffe Vink to our “Prime Dhimmister”. In his closing remarks Mr. Vink reminds Balkenende of the Afghan king Amanullah, a pro-Western political reformer, an advocate for the emancipation of women who gave the country its first Constitution. As a way to thank him, he was kicked out of his country ‘cause he “betrayed Islam”:

Esteemed Mr. Balkenende, now that in court the case is closed, let’s proceed with the public debate. The Government Information Service stated that “opinions were put into the mouth of the Prime Minister that completely contravene his own”. I’m quite curious actually, about the precise nature of this. In that “secret speech” it says: ‘We must be proud of our Christianity’. Does that statement totally contravene your own opinion? [Mr. Balkenende is a Dutch Calvinist. — translator] It says that your party has been absent from the debate about Islam and should ‘come up with a coherent vision about Islam… because that’s what’s lacking and therefore it was possible for Mr. Wilders to hold us hostage: we didn’t have a vision about Islam’. Now you actually expect me to believe that you did have a vision about Islam? Because if you do, you have been a master at concealing it.”

[…]

“Perhaps, Mr. Balkenende, you might tell our soldiers in Tarin Kowt the story of the King [Amanullah], when you visit them once again. But I must tell you one more thing: I will not let myself be silenced. Ammehoela! [which is a Dutch expression for “up yours” or “when hell freezes over”]. Over my dead body! “ [he actually says literally “never in my life”, but i.m.o. this literal translation would lose much of its power]

It’s a bit ironic, if not laughable, that our Dutch Prime Dhimmister preaches peace and quiet, while during the time leading up to Fitna he and his government were the prime source of scaremongering about a film whose contents were at the time unknown.

He actually SUED a journalist for libel after said journalist had mentioned in one of his articles that Schroeder's pitch black hair was artificially color-enhanced. I forget the outcome of the legal quarrel, but Germany was talking about the chancellors hair for weeks on end.

It's true, that Europe is sooo sophisticated. We all want to be like that ...